"The War Prayer", a short story or prose poem by Mark Twain, is a scathing indictment of war, and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war. A summary follows, however the entire piece is only about 1300 words long; it would almost be faster simply to read the full text.
The structure of the work is simple, but effective: United States patriots support the Spanish American War and in a church service call upon their God to grant them victory and protect their troops. Suddenly, a mysterious stranger appears and announces that he is God's messenger. He explains to them that he is there to speak aloud the second part of their prayer for victory, the part which they have implicitly wished for but have not spoken aloud themselves: the prayer for the suffering and destruction of their enemies. What follows is a grisly depiction of hardships inflicted on wartorn nations by their conquerors. The story ends on a pessimistic note: the messenger is ignored.
The piece was left unpublished by Mark Twain at his death, largely due to pressure from his family, who feared that the story would be considered sacrilegious. Twain's publisher and other friends also discouraged him from publishing it. Twain instructed for it to be published after his death, however, and is said to have quipped "I have told the truth in that... and only dead men can tell the truth in this world".
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